Lee trial: Tears as victim photos are shown

John Lee sobs during testimony as crime scene photos are displayed showing the body of his girlfriend Traci Nabergall. Lee is accused of the 2011stabbing deaths of Nabergall and Jason Salter in South Venice.

STAFF PHOTO / MIKE LANG

By SHANNON McFARLAND

Published: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 6:19 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 6:19 p.m.

SARASOTA - John Lee dropped his head into his hands as prosecutors displayed photos of his dead girlfriend on the courtroom screen Friday, the first day of his trial on double murder charges.

Traci Nabergall’s face and chest were covered in blood, her throat slashed, as she lay on the couch in Jason Salter’s Venice home. In the bedroom of the house, Salter lay on the floor with about 13 stab wounds.

Prosecutors say Lee killed Nabergall and their neighbor in a jealous rage in January 2011. They are seeking the death penalty for two counts of first-degree murder.

“John was arrested for battering both days earlier,” said Art Jackman, one of the assistant state attorneys prosecuting the case, laying out the evidence that the jury would be hearing during the trial.

Lee, 49, was arrested on battery charges, posted bail two days later and then violated a court order to avoid communication or contact with Nabergall. Jackman said phone records show 53 calls or texts from Lee to his 39-year-old girlfriend, the last one less than half an hour before she and Salter were found dead.

“He knows she is dead,” Jackman told the jury, meaning those late texts.

Lee’s relatives clustered to one side of the courtroom, a bailiff handing tissues to a tearful woman in the audience while the graphic photos of the crime scene were displayed on a courtroom screen. Distraught by the testimony, another family member walked out.

In his opening statement, Assistant Public Defender Jerome Meisner sought to counter the prosecution’s portrait of Lee.

Meisner said Lee was upset — but not jealous — that Nabergall was spending time with the 46-year-old Salter, who the defense attorney said was giving Nabergall drugs. “Traci was using drugs and John did not like that,” Meisner said.

At the time, Lee and Nabergall lived together on Park Road, a short distance from Salter’s house.

The first man to find the bodies, Salter’s cousin, ran from the house after seeing Nabergall’s lifeless body. Unable to make a phone call, he drove to a gas station for help and then the fire department.

Minutes later, four neighbors walked over to their friend’s home. One of them, Jay Kovacevich, testified that he saw the door ajar and heard music playing. Inside, he saw Nabergall.

Choking up on the witness stand, Kovacevich recalled walking over to touch Nabergall’s shoulder and realizing she was dead. He ran out of the house and called 911, frantically giving the address to the dispatcher.

“Please hurry,” Kovacevich was heard telling the dispatcher in a 911 call played for jurors. “She’s dead, she’s covered in blood.”

Daphne Smith, another friend of Salter’s, told jurors of meeting Nabergall on Jan. 19, 2011, hours before Lee was arrested on charges of battery. Smith remembered the date because it was Saltman’s birthday.

“A lady came up, knocking on the door of Jason’s home,” Smith recalled. “She was hysterical.”

Smith said that Nabergall had fresh bruises on her neck and arm, scratches across her cheeks and a yellowing, healing black eye that she said were from Lee.

“She said he had beat her up a couple times,” Smith testified. “She said she was scared. She didn’t want to go back.”

Smith and Salter consoled her for a few minutes, until they heard a sudden banging on door and windows.

“John was outside, wanting her to come outside, calling for Traci,” Smith said. “I said she should call the police. She didn’t want to call the police at that time because she didn’t know what he would do to her.”

Smith walked outside to talk with Lee, who she said was angry, red-faced and “pumped up.” She lied, saying that she was Salter’s girlfriend to calm Lee down.

Nabergall later walked out, telling Lee she was scared of him. Smith remembered telling Lee she would call the police.

“He was still angry but he left,” Smith said.

She returned to Salter’s home that night for his birthday gathering — the last time she saw him before he was killed a few days later.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - John Lee dropped his head into his hands as prosecutors displayed photos of his dead girlfriend on the courtroom screen Friday, the first day of his trial on double murder charges.</p><p>Traci Nabergall's face and chest were covered in blood, her throat slashed, as she lay on the couch in Jason Salter's Venice home. In the bedroom of the house, Salter lay on the floor with about 13 stab wounds.</p><p>Prosecutors say Lee killed Nabergall and their neighbor in a jealous rage in January 2011. They are seeking the death penalty for two counts of first-degree murder.</p><p>“John was arrested for battering both days earlier,” said Art Jackman, one of the assistant state attorneys prosecuting the case, laying out the evidence that the jury would be hearing during the trial.</p><p>Lee, 49, was arrested on battery charges, posted bail two days later and then violated a court order to avoid communication or contact with Nabergall. Jackman said phone records show 53 calls or texts from Lee to his 39-year-old girlfriend, the last one less than half an hour before she and Salter were found dead.</p><p>“He knows she is dead,” Jackman told the jury, meaning those late texts.</p><p>Lee's relatives clustered to one side of the courtroom, a bailiff handing tissues to a tearful woman in the audience while the graphic photos of the crime scene were displayed on a courtroom screen. Distraught by the testimony, another family member walked out.</p><p>In his opening statement, Assistant Public Defender Jerome Meisner sought to counter the prosecution's portrait of Lee.</p><p>Meisner said Lee was upset — but not jealous — that Nabergall was spending time with the 46-year-old Salter, who the defense attorney said was giving Nabergall drugs. “Traci was using drugs and John did not like that,” Meisner said.</p><p>At the time, Lee and Nabergall lived together on Park Road, a short distance from Salter's house.</p><p>The first man to find the bodies, Salter's cousin, ran from the house after seeing Nabergall's lifeless body. Unable to make a phone call, he drove to a gas station for help and then the fire department.</p><p>Minutes later, four neighbors walked over to their friend's home. One of them, Jay Kovacevich, testified that he saw the door ajar and heard music playing. Inside, he saw Nabergall.</p><p>Choking up on the witness stand, Kovacevich recalled walking over to touch Nabergall's shoulder and realizing she was dead. He ran out of the house and called 911, frantically giving the address to the dispatcher.</p><p>“Please hurry,” Kovacevich was heard telling the dispatcher in a 911 call played for jurors. “She's dead, she's covered in blood.”</p><p>Daphne Smith, another friend of Salter's, told jurors of meeting Nabergall on Jan. 19, 2011, hours before Lee was arrested on charges of battery. Smith remembered the date because it was Saltman's birthday.</p><p>“A lady came up, knocking on the door of Jason's home,” Smith recalled. “She was hysterical.”</p><p>Smith said that Nabergall had fresh bruises on her neck and arm, scratches across her cheeks and a yellowing, healing black eye that she said were from Lee.</p><p>“She said he had beat her up a couple times,” Smith testified. “She said she was scared. She didn't want to go back.”</p><p>Smith and Salter consoled her for a few minutes, until they heard a sudden banging on door and windows.</p><p>“John was outside, wanting her to come outside, calling for Traci,” Smith said. “I said she should call the police. She didn't want to call the police at that time because she didn't know what he would do to her.”</p><p>Smith walked outside to talk with Lee, who she said was angry, red-faced and “pumped up.” She lied, saying that she was Salter's girlfriend to calm Lee down.</p><p>Nabergall later walked out, telling Lee she was scared of him. Smith remembered telling Lee she would call the police.</p><p>“He was still angry but he left,” Smith said.</p><p>She returned to Salter's home that night for his birthday gathering — the last time she saw him before he was killed a few days later.</p>